June 8, 2009, DANVILLE – As the school year comes to a close, a Geisinger expert said that parents should reinforce their children’s healthy eating and lifestyle habits to prevent weight gain during summer break.
Several recent studies have shown that without the controlled environment of school, which offers regular meals and structured exercise time, children gain weight. For instance, a 2007 study by Yale Medical Group found that students in kindergarten and first grade gained weight during the summer at twice the rate as compared to the school year.
“On the one hand, summer is great because kids head outside and get plenty of exercise on their own,” said Sharon Madalis, R.D., MS Geisinger’s coordinator for clinical nutrition services. “Yet when a child is away from school, it is also very easy to reach for unhealthy comfort foods and to put on extra weight. Parents really need to pay attention to what their children are eating and drinking during the summer.”
Madalis offers the following tips:
- Start healthy: With no morning rush to catch the bus, start fueling the day with a healthy breakfast. Breakfast eaters tend to have more strength and endurance, better concentration and problem-solving abilities, and can manage their weight over time. Quick options include yogurt with fruit, whole-grain cereal with milk, a hard-cooked egg, or a peanut butter sandwich.
- Rediscover fruits and vegetables: Vegetables and fruit are low in fat and calories. Add grilled vegetables to summer meals or leave a bowl of fruit on the kitchen table. Parents also can try homemade fruit smoothies or planting a garden with their family.
- Take a vacation from fast food: Busy families often rely on fast-food meals during the school year. Trade those fat-laden meals for healthy picnics in the park or at the beach. Load the cooler with healthy alternatives for the ball field or amusement park.
- Be careful with liquids: During the hot summer months, people often drink sugary beverages such as soda, tea, fruit and energy drinks, and slurpies. Before grabbing a drink, check out the calorie content first. Children also should be encouraged to drink plain water, flavored waters and other sugar-free beverages. In addition, fruits and vegetables have a high water content that can rehydrate on a hot summer day.
- Stay active: Studies suggest that physical fitness benefits gained by children who participated in physical education class during the school year were lost after the three-month summer break. Kids can end up sleeping the days away, which further adds to a fitness decline. To fight this, parents can register their child for a community sports team, take up a new family hobby such as tennis or hiking, or host a neighborhood car or dog wash.
